Organic wine from grape harvesting to the glass

It starts with the grape harvest (picking) end ends with the bottling

Manual grape harvesting

particularly important for the quality of a wine in northern regions with frequently occurring rain, resulting in fungus diseases as well as putrefaction of the grapes. Grapes infected with fungal diseases and putrefaction can be sorted out by hand before they come into contact with healthy grapes.

However, manual grape harvesting is essential for the production of particularly high-quality wines, also in southern regions, because here, too, not all grapes ripen at the same time. With manual grape picking it is possible to harvest only the best ripe grapes and a few days later a second or third picking can be done if necessary.

Ideally, the grapes are not collected in large harvesting pans with a capacity of several thousand kilos, where the grapes are being crushed and oxidized before reaching the processing unit. A better but more costly alternative is the use of small stackable boxes.

Grape harvesting with machines is carried out for the production of low-priced wines. Harvesters reap all grapes in the vineyard at the same time, regardless of whether they are ripe, immature, moldy or rotten. The combination of a harvesting machine and harvesting troughs for the transport of the grapes is an inseparable system with which the negative effects on the quality of the wines obtained are accepted.

Less critical is the use of harvesting machines in southern wine-growing regions because fungi and mold fungi are less frequent than in the north.

Organic wine processing

For the processing of organic wine, as in viticulture, there are legal requirements which limit the use of additives and techniques. It is worth mentioning the limitation of sulfurization compared to conventional wines:

Dry white wines: 150 mg / l for wines with less than 2 g / l residual sugar and 170 mg / l for wines with 2-5 g / l residual sugar

Dry red wines: 100 mg / l for wines with less than 2 g / l residual sugar
120 mg / l for wines with 2 - 5 g / l residual sugar

These values ​​are widely undercut by our organic farmers from Southern Europe!

The following oenological practices and treatments are prohibited:

    - Must concentration by cooling
    - SO2 excretion by physical methods
    - Electrolysis for the stabilization of tartaric acid
    - Treatment of the wine with cation exchanger for the stabilization of the tartaric acid

The following products are allowed for organic wine production, as long as no more suitable techniques and aids are available:

    - Air, oxygen in gas form for ventilation
    - Centrifugation - Filter Aids: Perlite, Cellulose, Kieselguhr
    - Inert gases: nitrogen, carbonic acid, argon
    - For fermentation: pure breeding yeasts, di-ammonium phosphates, thiamine hydrochloride (fermentation aid)
    - Sulfur dioxide, potassium bisulphite or potassium metabulphite
    - Charcoal (clarification)
   -  For clarification: edible gelatine, plant egg white of wheat or peas, bubble, protein, albumin, tannins, casein,
      potassium caseinate, silicone dioxides, bentonite, pectolytic enzymes
      Additives and treatment agents: lactic acid, tartaric acid, Aleppo pine resin, L-ascorbic acid, citric acid, tannins, gum
      Arabicum, Potassium Bitartrate, Cupric citrate, coppersulphat, Potassium Alginate, Metawine acid

Organic white wines

are usually obtained from white grapes, which are actually green and by pressing a light juice with more or less greenish or yellowish nuances. This type of white wine is called "blanc de blanc" in France, sometimes also labeled on the bottle label.

Since almost all red grape varieties have a white juice, white wine can also be obtained from red grapes (Blanc de Noir).

For the preparation of white wine the berries of the grapes are usually immediately separated from the panicles and fermented. In rare cases, the berries are macerated in their own juice for a few hours, resulting in somewhat more nuanced wines with a light tannin content and a slightly bitter aftertaste.
If white wines are matured in barriques, they assume a slightly darker hue and aromas of the barriques and lose some freshness and fruit. Due to the lower tannin content, the shelf life of organic wine is generally somewhat shorter than that of organic red wine. 

Organic rosé wine

Organic rosé wines are believed to originate in Provence. It was for a long time simple, inexpensive and easy to drink, recalling wines that were very well cooled at the beach bar or picnic to the sales pitch during the summer months.

Since then, not only has the quality of Rosé wine from the South of France improved greatly, but its style has also changed. Our organic rosé wines are dry, fresh, fruity, some light, others full-bodied, but all very tasteful. They should be served cold, but not ice cold. They are suitable as aperitif and as a universal food companion.

Rosé wine is not a mixture of white and red wines. They are made from red grapes whose berries macerate for a few hours in the mash to dissolve the dyes from the berry dishes.

If you want to have fun with cheap rosé wines, you should pay attention to their age, they should be barely older than a year. High-quality organic rosé wines can be safely stored for 2 to 4 years.

Organic red wines

For the production of quality red wine, depending on the region, the grape varieties that have been indigenous for centuries are prescribed. In rare cases not indigenous, or internationally known grape varieties are also permitted.

This regulation makes it possible to offer wines with specific characteristics, characterized by soil, climate and vine varieties. Their basic character can differ slightly from year to year due to the individual composition of a cuvée from different grape varieties, the crop quantity per vine, the type of wine making and grape maturation, as well as by microclimatic influences.

In our wine descriptions you will find this information, which can help you make a purchase decision. A practical wine tasting at home in the usual environment is, of course, much more revealing and more fun.

The different red colors and the content of tannins are dependent on the grape varieties used and the type and duration of the mashing and fermentation time as well as the must temperature.
Since the juice of almost all red grape varieties is white, white wine (blanc de noir) can be produced. 

Champagne and other Sparkling wines

Although there are numerous regulations for the production of champagne, they obviously leave enough room for different qualities and different prices. Here are some of the most important rules: For the champagne production, only Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir varieties may be cultivated in precisely defined zones within the Champagne region. These grapes may only be pressed, fermented and bottled in Champagne. The maximum harvest yield is 13,000 kg per hectare of cultivated land, but can be increased by the authorities depending on the year. However, not only the harvesting but also the yield by pressing are regulated. From 4,000 kg of grapes, which corresponds to the capacity of a traditional basket press in the Champagne, only 2,666 l of juice can be pressed. One differentiates this juice according to its quality:

1. Pressing (cuvée) 2.666 liters (best quality)
2. Pressing (Première taille) 410 liters (medium quality)
3. Pressing (deuxiéme taille) 205 l (poorer quality).

Additional quantities of press may no longer be used for the production of champagne.
For high-quality champagne, only the first pressing is often used, quality-conscious winegrowers sell the third pressing to other plants which have less value for quality, but pay attention to lower prices.

An important factor for the quality of a champagne is the different vineyard areas, ie the soils and the geographic orientation. The best locations (Grand Cru) are Ambonnay, Buzy etc. They have the brightest, calcareous soils. Grapes from these layers yield the highest prices. On the other hand, the land prices for wine-growing areas as well as the grapes from the southern Champagneum Bar sur Aube and Bar sur Seine are much cheaper than those of the Montagne de Reims, Epernay or the Marne. By traditionalists the southern Champagne is considered not to be part of Champagne.
 

Champagne - The preparation of the basic wines
Differs in the Champagne not from that in other regions. The first step of champagne production begins with the preparation for the 2nd fermentation in the bottle. To the still wine is added yeast and sugar, stuffed in bottles, corkscrew (with clip, or with a crown cork), put with the bottle neck downwards (with manual work) into a vibrator and rotated several weeks so long until the yeast slowly From the bottle edge into the bottle neck. A yeast plug is formed there, which is removed after the end of the bottle fermentation.
Afterwards the missing quantity is filled with a champagne of the same production (Brut de brut, nature), or with a dosage (sugar and wine) according to the intended taste direction. All these rules also apply to the bio champagne of Francoise Bedel.

Champagne grape varieties and their characteristics:

Chardonnay: This variety gives a champagne a certain lightness, elegance, subtlety and freshness.
Pinot Noir: It brings safe yields, abundance, strength and structure.
Pinot Meunier (black Riesling): it is a resistant species, which fits well into the northern climate, as it sprouts late and blooms, thus avoiding the spring season. It has beautiful fruity aromas, a light acidity and freshness.

Sparkling wine - Mousseux - Cremant - Cava

Consists, depending on the origin, of different grape varieties which, as far as our products are concerned, are produced in the same way as champagne, ie with the 2nd fermentation in bottles.

Prosecco Spumante

(sparkling wine) and Prosecco Frizzante (sparkling wine) Is produced from the grape variety Glera. The second fermentation is usually not in the bottle probe

Prosecco Frizzante

Fermented only a few days, the Perlage is often impetuous and ebbs faster than with Spumante. very low priced Prosecco Frizzante does not undergo the seconc fermentation but it is injected with carbinic gas Ilike mineral water often is) .

Organic wine in bag in box

Even several thousand years ago, bags made of goat skin served as transport containers for liquids. The bag for wine or juice consist of a film composite material (aluminum, polyethylene), which at one end with a spout valve From which the liquid can be removed.

For safe transport, the bag is packaged in a sturdy carton provided with a pre-punched opening for the valve of the bag.

Admittedly, this type of wine for winemaking wine lovers who love the sound of a bottle of wine bottle, cause the nose to turn up. Wines in the Bag in Box can not, of course, compete with a Premier Grand Cru in terms of quality.

If, however, you can fill good organic wine in bag in boxes as Biowein[pur] does, then they offer much pleasure for little money!

Apart from that, there are many good reasons to opt for the purchase of organic wine in the bag in box:

    At the same quality and quantity, organic wine in the bag in box costs considerably less than in bottles, because
    Packaging and handling costs less
    The transport weight is lower and thus cheaper and more environmentally friendly
    Organic wine can be taken out of the bag in box in any quantity, there are no leftovers in bottles and you do not have to
    drink a bottle empty or empty the rest.
    Organic wine in the bag in box keeps in an opened condition and at cool temperatures up to 8 weeks. Please ensure
    that the valve is always covered with wine so that no air can get into the bag through the valve!
    Organic wine in bag in box requires little space in your home
    Bag in box - Packaging can be disposed and recycled environmentally friendly.

Kosher wine

Some of the criteria that must be applied to the production of organic wine also apply to the production of kosher wines. But there must be additional rules to produce kosher wines:

Kosher wines may be harvested only from grapes of vines older than 4 years. In a vineyard growing grapes for kosher wines, a six-month harvest year must be followed in which the grapes can not be read. This sabbatical year serves the vines and the soil for regeneration.

- No other crops may be cultivated in the vineyard.
- vines which are used to produce grapes for kosher wines must not be mixed with organic wine two months before the
   vintage fertilizers

- the fermentation of kosher wines may only be carried out with the natural yeasts on the grapes and not with artificial
  yeasts and other fermentation aids. This means that grapes and vines in the vineyard do not come with fungicides
  May be treated.
- Mash and fermentation containers must be made of stainless steel.
- All machines and equipment used for the production of Kosher wines must be kept and cleaned under the supervision    
  of  a Rabbi.
- For wine proceccing only persons who keep the Shabbat may be employed. 
- No enzymes or bacteria may be added to wine making of kosher wines.
- For clarification of kosher wines may not be blood preparations, no gelatin and no casein, but only bentonite
  (Stone powder) and for filtering only cellulose filters.
- Kosher wines always have to be filled into new bottles, a repeated re-use of bottles is not   allowed.
- 1% of the total wine production must be handed over to the needy free of charge and can not be sold.

In the Jewish religion, the term "kosher" means foods and beverages which must be produced according to precisely defined criteria. It means "clean", "perfect". When the rules for kosher wines were laid down many hundred years ago, the use of toxic sprays was still unknown in viticulture and therefore kosher wines are not subject to any restrictions as regards the use of health and environmental harmful herbicides and insecticides. In the expanded sense of kosher (clean), kosher wines should also be organic wines.

Organic wine trade

organic wine traders can be, or should be, a link between organic producers and organic consumers, representing the interests of both groups. This is only possible with profound wine knowledge and the consideration of ecological and social aspects, as well as the direct contact with the wine producers, as Biowein-Pur has practiced since 1983.

Organic wine trade labels
This is how organic wine is called when it is not bottled by the producers, but by importers or buyers of bulk wines and brought on the marked with their own labels. The reasons for these actions with overstock shortly before the new vintage has to be harvested. In this situation wine producers need the space in their tanks for the new vintage and therefore they sell these wines far under production costs. This action increases the profit of the dealer at the expense of the vintner and the wine quality. Because wine growers fill their better wines in their bottles with their own labels. In addition, the quality of the wines on the way from the wine estate to the filling units suffers from repeated pumping (air contact, vinegar bacteria), which necessitates further filtering and stabilization (sulfur). As a consequence some organic wine brands on the market contain more sulfur than is allowed by the EU-regulations. On the labels the origin of the wines is not comprehensible. With us, therefore, there are no private labels, only wines that are originally bottles at the wineries.

Organic wine shipping from overseas

Is it not something short-sighted to think of an organic wine importer only to the positive aspects of organic farming without chemicals, but not taking into account the environmental pollution caused by shipping it many thousand  miles? According to an UN report pollution caused by transport of good on the world's oceans three times higher than previously assumed.

This is why shipping of organic wine from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile or California makes less sense than before, as the incineration of heavy fuel pollutes the environment with an additional 45 g sulfur per kg of ship diesel, as well as soot, fine dust and nitrogen oxides. This kind of fuel is regarded as the dirtiest at all. (Source: DIE ZEIT from 07.04.2011)

Based on these new findings, the following CO2 emissions are generated when transporting a bottle of wine (1.4 kg):

Tuscany - Tübingen 1.000 km 280 g
South Africa - Hamburg - Tübingen 10.000 + 1.500 km 910 g
Australia - Hamburg - Tübingen 20,000 + 1,500 km 1,400 g
Chile - Hamburg - Tübingen 15,000 + 1,500 km 1,155 g
California - Hamburg - Tübingen 13,000 + 1,500 km 1,057 g
Argentina - Hamburg - Tübingen 12,000 + 1,500 km 1,008 g

As a basis for our calculation - see above - we used the information of the website "http://www.co2-emissionen-vergleich.de/" and multiplied the values ​​by 3. Given this high environmental impact, our decision not to ship organic wine from overseas was made years ago, proved to be right until someone does the shipping by sailing vessels.

Organic wine storage

Consider yourself lucky if you own an old brick cellar with natural ground. This regulates both the temperature and the humidity. It may be that the humidity in the summer can be so high that the labels detach themselves from the bottle. Then simply ventilate regularly through the basement window, the moisture will decrease and the room temperature will rise only slightly. In winter, the air humidity will be rather low, because either the heating in the basement or the heated rooms on the upper floor draw off the damp air. In new buildings, the cellars are concreted and the humidity is generally so low that natural corks can shrink in standing wine bottles and air can get into the bottles (only moist corks are dense) which allows the contents to be prematurely oxidized. This danger can be greater biowein because these usually contain less sulfur than conventional wines. Whether horizontally suspended wine bottles are subject to a higher risk, cork odor and taste - which would only concern single bottles - or whether all stored wines are at the same time endangered by oxidation, would have to be weighed. It should be noted that good wines are already stored in the vineyard for several months before being placed on the market. This time would suffice to infect and destroy them with damaged corks.

For wines that are drunk young or not long stored, the question is whether lying or standing, meaningless.
Our recommendation is: calm, dark, lying, at a maximum of 18 ° C without day and night fluctuations store. Highr the storage temperature means a shorter life of the wine. Since organic wines generally contain much less SO2, their storability can be impaired. Please address our drinking recommendations, which are given in almost all our organic wines.

A wine bottle can replace a cool cellar. They are available in different sizes and price ranges.